As is known in the art, radiation beams are useful in a wide variety of applications, such as medical treatment, active interrogation systems, and the like. As is also known, such radiation beams can be harmful or lethal if not steered accurately.
Conventional techniques to determine beam location, especially from high-current and high average power machines, rely on the beam being adjusted down dramatically in power while mechanically aligned with respect to a given target and fiducials. The targets are then removed and the current is increased to nominal levels. Alternately, a series of dosimeters can be placed at known locations, such as in a particular grid pattern. By reading the dosimeters, a map of the beam location can be determined. The amount of time and labor required to determine the locations of the dosimeters, to place the dosimeters, to read the dosimeters, and to determine beam location information from the dosimeters, will be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. It is also understood that both configurations do not enable real time monitoring of the beam.
However, in some applications it is not possible to visually assess the spatial extent or direction of travel, of ionizing radiation in the atmosphere. In the field of radiation oncology, for example, it would be helpful to be able to see the radiation emanating from therapeutic treatment tools in order to confirm the tools are operating in good working order, and to confirm that complex 2-dimensional (2-D) radiation treatment profiles are correct and directed correctly at patients. In the nuclear power industry, for example, dangerously-high radiation fields may be encountered in the vicinity of occupied areas where humans must be present to do their work, such as on the turbine deck of a boiling water reactor power plant or on the catwalk above a spent-fuel storage pool. In these instances it would be useful to have diagnostic tools to detect and assess the radiation fields in areas prior to human entry and activity.
Also, a number of known types of electronic radiation detection systems are currently used in various applications. One such application is stand-off active interrogation (SOAI) systems utilizing high-energy ionizing-radiation beams in air during for detecting various materials. The energy of the particles SOAI systems can vary widely and the distances at which these beams operate extend can also vary. There is a need to ensure these irradiation systems are functioning correctly and pointing in the right direction for correctly targeting a desired interrogation region.